


Learn Something New

by littletechiebird



Series: Amnesia-verse [2]
Category: DCU, DCU - Comicverse
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-11
Updated: 2013-01-11
Packaged: 2017-11-25 02:18:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/634063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littletechiebird/pseuds/littletechiebird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One would have thought that when he requested to be filled in on things, especially the important things, that maybe Kon wouldn’t have left these things out, or deliberately put himself through something so ridiculous. Then again, Tim never would have figured that out of all the experiences he seemed to have in his life, that he would be lacking that of all things…</p>
            </blockquote>





	Learn Something New

“Kon…!”

Memory or not, Tim had the same tone for when Kon was in trouble, and Conner knew it. Tim was probably the only one who didn’t. 

What was he in trouble for? Well, Conner should have known it was coming. Thinking about it, he likely had but had in stead chosen for some ridiculous, futile kind of hope that maybe, just maybe, Tim wouldn’t notice.

He definitely had.

So, spinning on his heel, he pressed the palm of his hand to the side of his neck, fingers wrapping around the back, using the sheer force of will to keep his hand from moving any further beyond that point in any way. “Yep?” It was such an innocent sounding inquiry, as if he had no idea what was coming. Conner knew better. Tim knew he did.

“So you remember that time I asked for details on things I needed to know?”

“Uh..”

“Just a couple months ago, right?”

“Well…”

“Because I  _thought_ that you’d been doing so well in filling me in on the important stuff, and even some of the things that would fall in between.”

“I’m try—”

“In all fairness, you kind of have. But I’m pretty sure  _this—_ ” Tim’s own hand reached up to tightly wrap around Conner’s wrist and yank it away from where it had settled upon his neck. “—qualifies as _important!”_

“It’s fine!”

The sharp batglare seemed to come with or without memories as well. Maybe it was just incorporated into Tim’s DNA. Conner wasn’t sure. There seemed to be a few things that were like that. Maybe the tone he seemed to earn in moments like this. 

Of course, the whole cause of the tone, glare, and conversation was the bright red, irritated, and itchy as all hell bumps that had started to spread over the half-Kryptonian’s skin. But now that his hand was away from the spots he’d been trying to cover, they were demanding to be scratched again which practically made him squirm where he stood in Tim’s grasp, his other hand grasping the countertop and — Oh dammit please someone tell him that he didn’t just crack Tim’s countertop..

Judging by the slight twitch in his brow, he was guessing, without even looking, that yeah. He had done just that.

Okay, one thing at a time.

“What is that? Are you allergic to something?”

“..Kinda.”

Queue batglare 2.0. Oh goodie.

“And what does “Kinda” mean, Kon?”

“I kinda might be just a little bit allergic to fresh strawberries or something.”

Tim blanched, looking to Kon with a mixture of guilt and worry.

“But it’s fine! Really! I just get hives. They itch and stuff but it’s not like they make me sick. Not a big deal at all.”

Tim didn’t seem convinced. This point was further proven by Tim shifting Kon’s arm in his grasp to use his free hand to shove his sleeve up further on his arm, revealing the splotches on his skin that covered his arm as well. Maybe if he wasn’t in so much “trouble” he might have taken more time to notice the way Tim’s hands shook, or the dark circles under his eyes that he’d noticed when he faced the bird boy’s glares.

“So it’s not a big deal that you’re practically covered in hives?”

“…Nope.”

Despite the grin on the meta’s face, Tim was not amused. “They’ll be gone in a few hours anyway!”

Tim just sighed, releasing the arm that had remained in his grasp and turned to snatch the bowl of strawberries off the counter and put them into the back of his fridge.

“Why did you eat the strawberries if you knew you were allergic? Why didn’t you tell me?”

The look on Kon’s face made him wonder what he said that made him get the “Are you CRAZY?” look. 

“Dude.. you were  _sharing_.”

“And?”

“You  _never_ share your strawberries.” Kon shrugged. “Among a few other of your favorites.”

“Ever think that maybe I didn’t share before because I knew you were  _allergic_?”

Conner actually paused as if this was the first time he’d thought of it and shrugged and shook his head. “Nah.”

A heavy, tired sigh with a small laugh Tim was the one to shake his head this time. “Of course not.”

Even though Tim didn’t remember, he was seeing more and more of the Tim he knew lately. He was stressing a little less about what he should be doing, saying, or how he should be acting and reacting around the rest of them. He was just living however he knew, and it turned out that what came natural wasn’t so different from how things had been. It wasn’t quite the same, but it was close enough. After all, Kon still had his friend… even if he didn’t have his lover.

Walking from the kitchen and choosing not to comment on the countertop that he had noticed to be cracked nearly in half, he walked to the couch and allowed his head to fall back. He was exhausted and his body ached, but there was no reason for it. 

“Anything else I should know about on that matter? Are you allergic to anything else? Or does anything make you sick?”

Letting his eyes fall shut, he was starting to feel the need to squirm where he sat too. He must have been thinking about Kon’s hives a little too much to the point where his skin was almost crawling with the need to scratch a growing itch.

As he flopped onto his side, hair falling over his eyes, he could hear Kon approach from behind the couch and lean against it. “Uh.. might be all berries. When they’re fresh, anyway. They don’t bother me when they’re in Ma’s pies or anything.” He heard him squirm against the back of the couch and begin to scratch the spots that caused his discomfort.

“Don’t scratch.”

A whine was more than clear to him from where he rested. “No.” He pressed, despite the continued whine from the boy behind the couch.

“So it’s just fresh berries.. they’re fine when they’re cooked?” 

“Yeah, I guess.” Despite the fact that there was no more noise being made, and Conner was being very careful with his movements while Tim remained in place, eyes still shut, he wasn’t fooling anyone.

“I swear if you don’t stop scratching, Conner, I’ll get the kryptonite.”

The incredulous look on the meta’s face likely would have been humorous for Tim if he’d made an effort to look and see. “W-.. Are you serious?!”  But decided to be stubborn in his own right. “You don’t even know where any is!”

“Found some last week.”

Shoulders slumped and he looked utterly betrayed. “You wouldn’t..”

“Super healing powers or not, you really shouldn’t be scratching. You’re making  _me_ want to and it’s _awful_.”

“Well you have no reason to! It’s not like you’ve got hives everywhe— Oh maybe you do..”

“Well it’s your own fault that you have them! If you had just not eaten them and if you had just told me— Wait, what?”

With caution, Kon let his chin rest on top of his hand as he used the other to gently brush away the hair from his neck, and even shifted the neckline of his shirt a bit to get a better look at the skin, momentarily putting aside the twinge of his heart as he glanced over the sight of the burned skin that the hair hid from sight.

He’d had to explain that one a couple weeks ago.

But as he pushed those obstructions aside, he saw small red dots, some more faint than the others which seemed to be prominent and somewhat raised. “Uh, dude.. maybe you’re developing an allergy to them too? ‘Cause you’ve got some red bumps too.”

“How?!” Though he was well aware an allergy could be developed at any time, he felt like this was far too delayed of a reaction. They had eaten the strawberries a couple, or even a few hours earlier. He’d noticed a reaction with Conner within half an hour but had given him time before saying anything not thinking for a second that he would really be foolish enough to eat something he knew he was allergic to. 

He’d been proven wrong on that one.

In his own case, he just didn’t see how that could be. So he quickly sat up and rose to his feet, which within seconds, he realized was a bad idea. Before he even realized he was starting to fall right back to where he’d been sitting, he felt familiar warm tendrils of TTK catching him and lowering him back to his place on the couch.

“Woah there, Tim.”

Tim raised a hand to his head, fingers threading through his hair as he felt a chill run through his whole body somewhat violently. What was that? He had almost felt ready to black out completely. He felt.. somewhat fine as he sat there now. Maybe he’d stood up a bit too quickly.

Distracting himself with attempting to explain away any concern, he’d hardly noticed that Conner was crouched in front of him, hands resting on his knees. “You alright?”

Waving a hand dismissively, Tim scooted to the side and stood a bit slower. With this attempt, he was able to stay standing, but Kon had stood with him. “Tim?”

“I just stood up too quickly and got a head rush.”

He was getting a less intense version of the “Are you crazy” look again, but Tim wasn’t going to indulge it. 

“Yeah? Then what about the spots?”

“I don’t know. That’s what I’m going to see.” 

Trekking into his bathroom just down the hall, he peered into the mirror and saw that the spots, which seemed to be premature bumps judging by others that seemed to be a bit further along in their invasion, were spreading not only on his neck and shoulder, but even on his arms and a few on his face.

“What in the world..”

But not only that, he had to admit, he looked pretty rough. Circles under his eyes he had come to expect. He’d been feeling tired. He wasn’t sure if it was just because he wasn’t getting enough sleep or what. Well, he would have continued to blame it on that if he hadn’t been so pale to go along with it.

His icing on the cake was Kon sliding into the room behind him and lightly pressing his hand to Tim’s forehead as a concerned and puzzled expression settled into place for only a moment before it was replaced with alarm. “Tim you’re burning up!”

“I’m fine.”

Conner looked about as amused as Tim had just a short while before. 

“Bed.”

“What? No!”

“Bed, Timmy. Seems that you’re the one who went and got himself sick. Seems like you’ve got the chicken pox.”

Tim suddenly seemed irritated. “..Of course. I guess that’s something else to find out about a little too late.”

“Not sure if yours could’ve really been avoided, Rob.”  It took a moment for Tim’s brain to process the nickname. It was still something he wasn’t quite used to, though it felt natural at the same time. He supposed that was just a bigger part of himself he really hadn’t gotten back yet.

A hand rested on his shoulder to try to nudge him out of the bathroom carefully and gently. “So either way, as unfortunate as it is, I’m pretty sure that means it’s time for you to rest. Your choice — bed or couch?”

“..Couch.”

“Alright! Back to the couch we go.”

Steering him right back from where they came, Kon left for just a moment as Tim settled in to make a quick return with a pillow and blanket.

“I didn’t make a mess, don’t worry.”

Another thing that hadn’t changed about Tim, with or without memory — he still had an odd sense of order about things. 

“Comfy?”

Tim only sighed. He didn’t like the idea of being stuck on the couch. If this really was chicken pox, then he was going to be bedridden for a while. Not only that, but of course, chicken pox was harder on adults than it was children. There were many complications that came as a risk. 

Well that was a morbid thought. Tim shook it from his mind by closing his eyes again and trying to accept the several to dozen days where he would be forced to “take it easy”.

“Sure.”

“Well that’s a pretty weak response.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ve made it clear that before, and even now, I’m not the person who enjoys sitting still and doing nothing.”

“Hmm.”

Kon was taking another pensive moment, it seemed. In part of that moment, he had disappeared from Tim’s side. He didn’t really take the time to wonder what it possibly could have been for.

“Well! We’ve learned a couple things today. They haven’t really been in.. the best ways.. but it’s something to know about all the same that you didn’t know before!”

Another puffed out sigh brought his bangs to rustle out of place. “Your point?”

“Well, maybe you can learn about something in a bit of a more positive sense.”

From his place on the couch, he could hear soft clangs of various movement in the kitchen. What Kon was planning? He didn’t try to guess on that either.

“Like?”

Then there he was again before him, offering a bowl full of ice cream. “Ice cream?” He inquired again.

“Ice cream.” The meta confirmed triumphantly.

Taking the bowl, he held it before him, letting it sit in his lap as one hand rested on the bowl, the other taking the spoon. Taking a small bit of one of the scoops that sat in the bowl, he raised it to his lips. As he did, Kon continued. 

“Its your favorite, remember?”

As the creamy dessert ran over his taste buds, there was an odd anxiousness that stretched down his arms and to his hands that made him feel the need to move, but didn’t know how, couldn’t, and didn’t know what he could do to fix it. He wanted to blame it on being sick, but there was an odd pull in the back of his mind. He couldn’t do a thing about any of it, and he surely couldn’t tell Kon that he remembered anything more than he had before.

There was a guilt that rose in that, too. Though Kon had been trying so hard, though he wasn’t trying to put any kind of pressure on him, he still had moments where he seemed to have a hard time that Tim hadn’t remembered anything at all. Tim still didn’t blame him, he just didn’t know what to say anymore.

Looking to where Conner had settled onto the arm of the couch next to his feet, he could see he’d fallen into a memory again.

“You told me that you liked it because it was the flavor that tasted best on me…”

Did Conner even know he was speaking aloud? 

Or maybe he had intended to share that as part of the learning experience as well?

He’d certainly learned something new.

That was the only thought he had as his face turned bright red.

Well at least he had some color to him again.

“Oh.” He didn’t realize he’d said a word, but it seemed Kon had.

“Oh!” He mirrored the sound, eyes going wide, matching Tim’s coloring.

“I— Tim I’m sorry I didn’t mean to just drop that on you—”

“So… we weren’t just best friends..”

Kon looked down at his hands, beginning to examine his palms and fingers. “Uh.. no… Not just friends. I mean, we were. Once. But then.. it kinda changed..”

“Obviously.” 

Kon laughed on a weak exhale, unsure how to continue. “I mean.. yeah. It was like that before but.. it.. There’s no pressure for things to be that way now if you don’t want them to be. You’re still figuring things out. We both are. So you don’t need this to stress you out too.”

“It hasn’t been very fair for you either though, has it? There’s more of a rhetorical question, by the way..”

This time, Conner had no answer. He was lost with how he should respond, how he should continue. Just a couple months before they’d found an easier way to continue, and he felt like he’d messed that all up in a matter of seconds. So now he just wondered… how badly had he messed things up?

Sitting the bowl of ice cream aside, he knew desserts could wait. He may not have felt as good as he would have liked to be able to handle the situation. He would have preferred he be at his best. Even without being sick, there was no chance of that with how things were. To be at his best would mean having his memories, wouldn’t it?

“There’s a lot I still don’t know. We both know that much.. So I don’t want to change anything I had before by giving up on it prematurely.”

“No. Right. Of course. Yeah..”

“And I don’t want to give up on it anyway, okay?”

It was Kon’s turn to be pleasantly surprised. “Oh.”

Tim smiled, watching Kon for a moment longer before he was sure he understood. Only when he was sure that he didn’t think that Tim was counting him out, giving up on whatever they’d previously established, did he grab the ice cream again and begin to enjoy the treat, leaning back as his head began to swim a bit with fever once more.

“So tell me about it.”

“Hm?” 

  
Conner was watching him enjoy the treat. 

“About us, I mean.”

There was something that sparked in his eyes again, but he could tell he was trying to suppress it.

“..Well… how much? I don’t want to say too much if you don’t want, or aren’t ready, to hear it..”

“I’m fine with anything you want to share.”

He watched whatever was lighting up his eyes swell even more. Kon was thinking intently, trying to figure out just the thing to share. Even if Tim didn’t know it, Conner wanted to try and keep him smiling and even make him laugh.

“Hm. Well.. once I sent you some uh..  _private_ texts on a night where you’d already insisted you couldn’t come to see me, and I had already promised Ma I’d stay in Smallville for the weekend. You said you had to stay because you had patrol with Bats. What I didn’t really expect is that he had your phone and that he’d screen your texts…”

Tim had the same look of mortification he had the first time they’d experienced this. But this time, at least _he_  could laugh about it, he supposed.

His hand rose to the back of his neck, which reminded him that it really itched like something awful, but he maintained enough self control to keep from indulging his need to scratch. 

“I ended up with the Bat plane outside my window and an overwhelming urge to flee.”

As soon as he had mentioned the Bat plane, Tim had begun to laugh and choke on his ice cream for some several seconds before it was a mixture of coughing and laughter to resolve the choking issue.

“I think when I did, my excuse was that some penguins needed saving at the North Pole..”

“Oh my god, Conner..”

“Yeah, that’s what you said then, too.”

With his two scoops of ice cream having been finished, he set the bowl aside and settled back into his spot, letting his head rest back against the pillow. 

Conner had started to scratch again.

“Stop.”

“I will if you will.”

Eyes opened again to look down at his nails scratching his opposite forearm. “..Oh.”

Kon sniggered to himself. “We’re quite the pair, huh?”

“At least yours are starting to heal and yours was by choice.”

“But—!”

“You don’t get to complain.” 


End file.
